KR20230145483A - System and/or method for platooning - Google Patents

Abstract

The system may include a dispatcher and multiple vehicles. However, system 100 may additionally or alternatively include any other suitable set of components. System 100 functions to enable platooning of multiple cars (e.g., by method S100).

Description

System and/or method for platooning

Cross-reference to related applications

This application is related to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/180,867, filed on April 28, 2021, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/195,617, filed on June 1, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/195,617, filed on January 14, 2022. Claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 63/299,786, each of which is hereby incorporated by this reference in its entirety.

This application is incorporated by reference into U.S. Application No. 17/335,732, filed June 1, 2021, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/032,196, filed May 29, 2020, each of which is incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates generally to the field of transportation, and more specifically to novel and useful vehicle platooning systems and/or methods in the field of transportation.

1A-1B are schematic representations of variations of the system.
Figures 2A-2C are schematic representations of variations of the method.
Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a variant of the method.
4A-4D are diagrammatic representations of an example sequence of method elements in a variant of the method.
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a car in a variant of the system.
6A-6B are top and side views, respectively, of a bogie abutment in a variant of the method.
Figure 7 is a schematic representation of a variant of the method.
Figure 8 is a partial side view representation of a variant of the system.
9A-9C are first, second, and third schematic representations of the system, respectively.
10 is an illustrative example of local vehicle control.
11A-11F are example sequences for dividing platoons in a variation of the method.
Figure 12 is a schematic example of a variant of the system.
13 is a schematic example of a warrant in a variant of the system and/or method.

The following description of preferred embodiments of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to these preferred embodiments, but rather to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention.

1. Overview.

The system 100, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1A, may include a dispatcher and a plurality of cars. However, system 100 may additionally or alternatively include any other suitable set of components. System 100 functions to enable platooning of multiple cars (e.g., by method S100).

In a first set of variations, the car referenced with the system and/or method is described in U.S. Application No. 17/694,499, filed March 14, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by this reference in its entirety. It may be an electric vehicle(s) as such.

In one example, the system and/or method may be used with an electric vehicle comprising: a payload interface, a payload suspension, a chassis, a set of bumpers, a battery, a set of sensors, a vehicle controller, an electric powertrain, a chassis suspension, and May include a cooling subsystem. The electric vehicle may optionally include a payload adapter and/or any other suitable components. However, the system may additionally or alternatively include any other suitable set of components. The vehicle controller may include a battery management system (BMS), a motor controller (or motor inverter), and/or any other suitable components. The electric powertrain may include: an electric motor, wheelset, and mechanical brakes. The electric powertrain may optionally include a differential (eg, a lockable differential). However, the electric powertrain may include any suitable set of components. The electric vehicle functions to structurally support the payload - such as a cargo container (eg, intermodal container, ISO container, etc.) - and/or facilitate the transport of the payload through the rail infrastructure. The electric vehicle is preferably an electric rail bogie and/or rail 'module' configured to operate in a pairwise manner, e.g. a pair of bogies each supporting opposite ends of the payload (an example is shown in FIG. shown in 5). In variations, the rail bogies may be configured to support and/or transport the payload without mechanical interconnection and/or rigid structures spanning the length of the payload (e.g., one example is shown in Figure 12). Accordingly, the electric vehicle(s) may be controllable cooperatively in a pairwise and/or multiplicative manner, but additionally or alternatively may be individually maneuverable on the rail infrastructure. However, the electric vehicle may otherwise be appropriately operated and/or controlled. The electric vehicle is preferably symmetrical (eg, has mirror symmetry over a lateral plane) and bidirectionally operable, but could alternatively be unidirectionally operable or otherwise configured.

In variations of the first set and the non-exclusive second set, the car referenced in conjunction with the system and/or method refers to the U.S. application filed March 14, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by this reference in its entirety. may refer to a pair of electric vehicles (e.g., and an equipped payload) as described in Ser. No. 17/694,499.

However, the system and/or method may additionally or alternatively be configured to operate with any self-propelled rail car and/or vehicle.

As used herein, the term "dispatcher" may refer to an automated and/or manually operated system that performs the role of a dispatcher for a railroad, but may otherwise, as appropriate, refer to an operator system and/or or may otherwise be used/referenced as appropriate (e.g., consistent with the Dispatcher role as defined by regulatory requirements and/or differently from the Dispatcher role as defined by local/regional jurisdictions).

Similarly, the term “warrant,” as used herein, may refer to a warrant as defined by a regulatory agency or to a licensed track occupancy domain (e.g., a micro-warrant; as defined by regulatory guidelines). may be used differently and/or may be used differently to refer to warrants as regulated, separately regulated from regulatory guidelines, etc.).

2. Advantages.

Variations of the present technology may provide several advantages and/or advantages.

First, variations of the present technology can increase the longitudinal density of a series of rail cars/vehicles. Such variations of the present technology may reduce aerodynamic drag by minimizing air gaps between adjacent vehicles and/or containers. Variants include automotive vehicle platooning (e.g., providing lower longitudinal densities) and conventional rail (e.g., providing lower longitudinal densities due to different container sizes and rigid connection spacing). It can provide superior aerodynamics compared to trains.

Second, variations of the present technology may allow for individual and/or collective routing of payloads (e.g., cargo containers, trailers), reducing the downtime associated with container loading, routing, and dispatch. can be reduced. As an example, cars are grouped into platoons (e.g., for aerodynamic efficiency) and then separated (e.g., during traversal of the platoon) and/or sent to different destinations for loading/unloading. can be routed independently (for example, parallel sets of tracks, separate rail hubs, separate ports, etc.), which can improve the operational efficiency of the rail network. In such a variant, flexibility in flock size could allow operators to maintain dispatch schedules at terminals with more accurately planned meet/pass timings on the rail network, which would increase network capacity. This can be particularly advantageous in reducing terminal costs, which can provide benefits for both short-haul transit corridors and major rail corridors. For example, an operator may dispatch trains at set intervals (e.g., every 20 minutes), with the variable length of the swarm depending on what payload is ready. This may be advantageous for many freight train operators who regularly elect to wait for straggling ferry loads to connect them to longer trains. Instead, lagging payloads may depart later, meet up with the constellation (or other constellations) during transit, or otherwise be controlled to reduce/eliminate any resulting downtime within the network.

Third, variants of this technology could provide and/or complement vehicle autonomy, which could reduce human operator costs per mile, replacing rail operators with autonomous agents.

Fourth, variants of the present technology may provide dynamic load balancing and/or energy redistribution between rail cars and/or rail vehicles (e.g., pairs of vehicles that cooperatively support the cargo of the cars). You can. Load balancing may increase the effective range of vehicles within the network and/or minimize degradation of vehicles (e.g., vehicle batteries) within the network. Load balancing may additionally or alternatively equalize SOC across vehicles in a swarm (e.g., despite uneven drag and/or drag gradients in the various cars in the swarm). In one example, load balancing may preserve (and/or increase) the SOC of the first vehicle in a swarm to prevent the swarm from being range limited by the first vehicle SOC (e.g., in the direction of travel). .

Fifth, variants may enable coordinated acceleration and/or deceleration of swarms. Variants may enable coordinated braking and/or flock cohesion without requiring vehicle-to-vehicle communication or other V2V coordination (e.g., a following vehicle may adjust the force on the bumper 122 and digitally capable of responding to upstream disturbances without being notified either by the enemy or by wireless radio communications). In certain examples, coordinated braking of a swarm may allow the swarm (and/or cars/vehicles within it) to stop within line of sight, thereby increasing the safety of the rail network. Additionally, in variants using electric rail vehicles/cars, coordinated regenerative braking may increase the effective range and/or energy efficiency of the swarm.

Sixth, variants of the present technology may be resilient to failure and/or degraded performance of vehicles and/or vehicles within the rail network. In a first example, platooning vehicles can 'push' adjacent cars with power down/failure with minimal or no delay in the network. In a second example, a platoon vehicle may 'escort' an adjacent car with a degradation/failure of an autonomous agent, sensor (eg, GPS), and/or communication system.

Seventh, variations of the present technology allow for swarming in a variety of operating contexts (e.g., uphill traversing, downhill traversing, crossing through ice, snow, or sand, etc.) without relying on inter-car mechanical coupling. Cohesion can be maintained locally and gapping between cars can be prevented. For example, each leading vehicle (within a car) could repeatedly measure the bumper contact force with the preceding vehicle and dynamically control the motor to maintain the contact force within a predetermined force range (e.g. Here, the minimum force threshold may be above the noise floor for the motion context, above the energy loss due to friction, etc.). In these examples, trailing vehicles may dynamically control their motors to maintain payload interface force, maintain a predetermined distance from a paired leading vehicle, maintain speed or acceleration, or perform other operations. The goal can be satisfied.

Eighth, variations of the present technology reduce the need for inter-car tensioning components, train couplers, and/or air brake lines spanning between cars (e.g., to transfer tension forces between cars) and/or It can be removed. Such variations may reduce the labor and/or time associated with train formation since these components are connected by manual motion. Similarly, such modifications may improve reliability by eliminating components that are subject to failure and eliminating the potential for human error.

Ninth, variations of the present technology can facilitate autonomous vehicle (AV) and/or electric vehicle (EV) retrofit within existing rail networks. For example, the variant could facilitate electric retrofit to battery-electric rail powertrains without the expensive and time-consuming installation of third rail infrastructure (e.g., less than 1 percent of U.S. rail miles are currently electrified). . Additionally, variants may allow existing networks to be retrofitted with AV technology (e.g., modularly on a per-vehicle, car, and/or swarm basis), track infrastructure, dispatch, and/or other components within the network. Minimal or no impact on manually operated trains.

However, variations of the present technology may additionally or alternatively provide any other suitable advantages and/or advantages.

3. system.

The system 100, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1, may include a dispatcher 110 and a plurality of cars 120. However, system 100 may additionally or alternatively include any other suitable set of components. System 100 functions to enable platooning of multiple cars.

Vehicle 120 functions to facilitate transportation of payload (e.g., a cargo container). In a first variant, each car includes a pair of electric bogies without spanning structures (an example is shown in Figure 5). In a second variant, each vehicle is equipped with a powertrain (e.g., an electric powertrain) configured to propel the vehicle (and payload) and be independently maneuverable/controllable, but may be otherwise suitably configured. . In a particular example, a car may have two units rigidly coupled to a spanning structure or frame (e.g., car body) that establishes a fixed longitudinal distance between the bogies (e.g., independent of cargo size/length). May include examples. In a second example, the car may be one or more of the configurations/arrangements as described in U.S. Application No. 17/335,732, filed June 1, 2021, which is incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety.

Each car may include a set of bumpers 122, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1B, that function to cushion impacts resulting from contact between adjacent cars along the rail (e.g., during S116). there is. Additionally or alternatively, bumper contact force/displacement may provide a measurable input for control/navigation adjustments to adjacent vehicles, such as acceleration, coordinated propulsion, and/or coordinated braking over a period of time. Each car preferably comprises a buffer at the opposite longitudinal end (eg the maximum leading/trailing end of the car).

Preferably, the car includes a front bumper and a rear bumper that are symmetrical about the front center plane of the car, but where the front and rear bumpers are additionally or alternatively different (e.g., have unique force versus displacement curves). having), may be asymmetrical, and/or may be otherwise appropriately configured. Alternatively, the car may exclude front and/or rear bumpers and/or may be otherwise appropriately configured. Preferably, each bumper is connected to the chassis at two points symmetrical about the mid-sagittal plane of the car and spanning elements of the payload suspension. Alternatively, each bumper could be centrally mounted (eg, along a longitudinal centerline) and direct forces down the spine of the car (or bogies therein). However, the bumper(s) may be suitably arranged otherwise. The contact surface of the bumper (e.g. along the leading edge of the front bumper or the trailing edge of the rear bumper; examples of bumper abutments are shown in Figures 6A and 6B) is preferably arcuate, but is otherwise suitable. It can be configured.

In certain examples, the span and/or curvature of each bumper may be specified based on the maximum curvature of the standard rail and/or the maximum angle between adjacent payloads/cars on the maximum curved rail. . Alternatively, the abutment surface of the bumper (at the leading and/or trailing ends) may be planar and/or have any other suitable geometry.

In a variant, the car may optionally include an unused, internal bumper arranged between the sets of wheels. In a particular example, a car may include two bogies, each bogie including a pair of symmetrically opposed bumpers in a longitudinal direction. Based on the arrangement of the load on view (e.g., determined at S105), outward-facing bumper(s) may be used for force-feedback control (e.g., at S230). In some variations, a forward-oriented bumper can be used for vehicle control (e.g., based on the direction of motion of the car) and a rear (and/or interior-oriented) bumper. Bumpers can be ignored.

In a variant, the bumper is easily displaced across a first force regime (e.g., shallow slope of the force vs. displacement curve, low spring constant; for abutment sensing/adjustment) while being easily displaced across a second force regime (e.g., for abutment sensing/adjustment). For example, it may be desirable to provide impact resilience across high spring constants (e.g. more than 10 times the spring constant of the first force regime). In a particular example, the bumper may be subjected to a 500 N contact load during platooning and a 10 kN (e.g., up to approximately 25 kN) and can respond and/or sense both shock loads. In a second example, the bumper has an additional dynamic damping range (e.g., beyond the range of force sensing; where the span of the sensing range is 50%, 25%, 10%) to provide resilience to higher forces and/or shock loads. It is possible to detect contact loads/forces within the first (lower end of the force regime) while being less than a critical fraction of the total displacement range, such as %.

In a variant, providing a bumper that is overdamped and/or critically damped over the entire range of dynamic loads - payload mass range (e.g. 0 kg to 50,000 kg) and relative velocity of initial contact (e.g. 0.1 m/s, etc.) - may adversely increase the length requirements and/or displacement range of the bumper spring/damper system (and may additionally impart greater forces on initial contact/impact). . In such a variant, it may be desirable to limit the longitudinal air gap to about 18 inches, which may limit the bumper displacement range to about 4 inches (8 inches of the symmetrically opposite bumper of an adjacent car). Combined displacement; an example is shown in Figure 8). Instead, by underdamping the bumper over its entire dynamic range and relying on coordinated active damping (e.g. by the electric powertrain) during initial contact, the length of the bumper and/or the range of displacement of the bumper can be reduced; , thereby reducing the effective voids of the cluster. However, the bumper may be underdamped, otherwise damped, and/or undamped (eg, used without dedicated damping components).

Bumper 122 may be: axially (e.g., in the direction of bumper compression) and/or laterally (e.g., to relieve out-of-plane contact loads arising from rail curvature) and/or springable. there is. The bumper may include circumferential damping elements, axial compression elements (eg, coil springs), and/or any other suitable components. The damping elements may be hydraulic, pneumatic, rubberized, spring steel, and/or any other suitable type(s) of damping elements.

Bumper 122 may include any suitable force and/or displacement sensor (e.g., as part of a sensor set), such as: load cells, strain gauges, proximity sensors (e.g., optical, laser range finders, etc.), and /or may include a sensor set of any other suitable sensors. Sensors can measure different measurement ranges, over a broad range (e.g. across all or most of the bumper's motion context) and over a narrow range (e.g. where the bumper cooperatively covers the bumper's motion context). may be sensitive to force and/or displacement over a range of sensors (including a plurality of sensors, each having The sensor may be a damping element, mounted within a damping element, mounted adjacent to a damping element, or otherwise arranged.

However, the car(s) may include any other suitable bumper(s).

Each car may include a set of sensors 124 that function to facilitate crossing according to method S100. The sensor set may additionally function to monitor vehicle health parameters that may be used for vehicle control (e.g., autonomous vehicle control). The sensor set includes: internal sensors (e.g. force sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, IMU, INS, temperature, voltage/current sensors, etc.), external antennas (e.g. GPS, cellular, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, short range, etc.) communications, etc.), rail sensors (e.g., wheel encoders, cameras, temperature sensors, voltage/current sensors, accelerometers, etc.), payload sensors (e.g., force sensors/switches, cameras, lights, accelerometers, NFC sensors, etc. ), environmental sensors (e.g. cameras, temperature, wind speed/direction, accelerometers), inductive sensors (e.g. load cells, bumper contact switches, strain sensors, lights, horns, sonar, lidar) (lidar, radar, camera, etc.), and/or any other suitable sensor. Sensors may include one or more of the following: radar sensors, lidar sensors, sonar sensors, cameras, spatial sensors, position sensors, force sensors, on-board diagnostic sensors such as vehicle mechanism sensors, audio sensors, barometers, light sensors, Temperature sensors, current sensors, air flow meters, voltmeters, contact sensors, proximity sensors, vibration sensors, ultrasonic sensors, electrical sensors, and/or any other suitable sensors. However, the car may include any other suitable sensors.

In a variant, one or more sensors of the sensor set may be oriented towards the payload and arranged around the perimeter of the car (e.g. corners, sides, front, rear, etc.), for example to enable wireless connectivity.

In a variant, the car may include an electrically separate set of sensors and/or powertrain, such as may be distributed between a pair of bogies. In such a variant, the sensor set may enable short-range communication and/or wireless connectivity (e.g., V2V communication) between bogies of the car.

However, the system may include any other suitable sensor set.

However, the system may include any other suitable vehicle(s).

The dispatcher functions to provide instructions to the car(s). The instructions may include a warrant (or authorized track occupation domain) allowing a rail unit to occupy an area/segment of track (e.g., within a rail network). Additionally or alternatively, warrants may be determined automatically (e.g., based on the location and physical extent of rail units already on the track) and/or assigned by an automatic warranting system. , may be assigned by another car (e.g., a train), and/or may be otherwise determined. A rail unit may be a car or an aggregation (e.g., a set of cars) that is separated from other rail units by more than a threshold distance. For example, rail units can be divided into individual bogies (e.g. independently operable/manoeuvrable bogies, e.g. battery-electric rail bogies), vehicles (e.g. a pair of rail bogies and payload, etc.); independently operable/maneuverable rail vehicles, etc.), platoons, and/or any suitable combination thereof. The threshold distance is: determined based on GPS inaccuracy, kinematics of the rail unit (e.g. inertia, acceleration, speed, etc.), operating environment (e.g. terminal, terminal-to-terminal, etc.) and/or is a predetermined distance (e.g. For example, 20 m, 30 m, 50 m, 5 m, etc.) and/or may be determined otherwise. Preferably, only a single warrant is issued to each rail unit for a distinct region of the track at any given time and each rail unit can only operate within the boundaries of the track region specified by the warrant. The warranted track area is preferably static (e.g. and reallocated to each rail unit over time), but may alternatively move over time (e.g. , in the direction of movement of the rail unit, moving along the track). The warranted track areas preferably do not overlap with other warranted track areas for the same period of time, but may alternatively overlap. Warranting creates clusters (for example, where warrants for leading and trailing rail units are brought closer together over time until they cluster, at which point they form a single, larger Warrants are assigned to a cluster; join a car or multiple cars to a cluster), separate clusters (e.g., where a single cluster warrant is split into multiple warrants, each assigned to a different cluster subsegment), and/or ), can be used differently for control. Warrant parameters (e.g. location, movement, time, duration, rail range, etc.) are determined manually and/or automatically (e.g. using a model configured to form and/or disband swarms) and/or may be otherwise determined. Alternatively, multiple car(s) and/or cluster(s) (e.g., to merge with a second car and/or cluster; to be processed cooperatively as a single cluster, etc.) of the track during S220. A warrant may traverse a common section and/or any other suitable warrant may be provided. The command may additionally or alternatively be an operation mode command for the rail unit (e.g. master/slave assignment, leading/trailing, etc.), speed command (e.g. speed target), acceleration command, position command. (e.g., waypoints along a track with associated time objectives), and/or any other suitable commands associated with cars (or individual views thereof) and/or swarms. In some variations, the rail unit/car may operate based on commands (e.g. warrants) without the use of track circuitry for localization of the car on the track (e.g., which in some contexts may operate and /or may reduce modification requirements); However, alternatively the rail unit/car may use the track circuit for localization to the track. In a variant, instructions from the dispatcher may additionally or alternatively command load balancing and/or energy redistribution among the cars (and/or views within) of the swarm. Alternatively, one or more cars (or independently-operable vehicles thereof) may coordinate the load balancing of the swarm (e.g., by V2V communications) or energy may be distributed to each car and/or energy system in the swarm. Can be managed independently. However, the dispatcher may provide any other suitable set of instructions.

In a variant (an example is shown in Figure 13), the warrant is: a start coordinate along the track, and an end coordinate along the track, a (sequential) list of segments (e.g., contained in the warrant and found in the start and end coordinates) ), and may optionally include metadata (e.g., speed limit for selection(s) of tracks). In such cases, a rail network consists of edges (e.g., portions of a track that can be approximated as straight lines), segments (e.g., a sequential set of edges), and nodes (e.g., two or more segments are connected to a single point). It may be a sparse network consisting of two segments meeting at an intersection, three segments meeting at a switch, and so on.

However, warrants may be issued differently and/or the rail network may be modeled/adjusted differently.

Dispatchers may be centralized and/or distributed (e.g., multiple compute nodes), specific to a rail line or shared between rail lines, or otherwise configured. The dispatcher may be a human, a human operating system, an automated system, and/or any other dispatcher. In a variant, the dispatcher may compute commands redundantly and/or deliver commands to cars and/or swarms such that the system may be resilient to failure of one or more compute nodes and/or communication nodes. The dispatcher may communicate with each view, car, and/or swarm (and/or each autonomous processor/agent therein). In a specific example, the dispatcher may communicate with a subset of cars (e.g., the lead car of the flock in the direction of travel; individually crossing cars (S210)) as part of a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication channel. Can communicate. A subset of cars may be configured to control the remaining cars in the swarm, such as by vehicle-to-vehicle communication channels and/or by mechanical interfaces (e.g., force transfer of bumper contact).

In a variation, the dispatcher may provide commands (and/or warrants thereto) to multiple cars and/or platoons operating within a single rail network (e.g., along a single track). For example, a dispatcher may provide commands to all rail cars and/or swarms operating within a rail network (e.g., a fully autonomous and/or fully automated network) or a subset thereof. The dispatcher may provide commands to multiple platoons and/or rail cars simultaneously, synchronously, asynchronously, and/or using any other communication frequency/relationship. However, the dispatcher may provide any other suitable commands using any other suitable timing.

In a variation, the dispatcher may provide instructions that include a speed (and/or velocity) target. As an example, the lead car of a group may be controlled based on a speed target, and each (independently-manoeuvrable) car following the lead car may achieve the speed target with torque control based on a compression force target (at the leading bumper). You can.

However, the system may include any other suitable dispatcher.

However, the system may include any other suitable components.

In some variations, cars may be commanded, controlled and/or receive instructions based on the arrangement of rail vehicles within each car (e.g., where a car may be a plurality of independently-operable rail vehicles) Examples include a pair of battery-electric rail drones that cooperatively support the payload). The arrangement of the vehicles may specify which vehicle in the car is directed to cross according to the command (one example is shown in Figure 2B; a second example is shown in Figure 10). Arrangement of vehicles within a car: manually, based on cargo loading order, based on warrant allocation of the vehicles prior to car formation (e.g., prior to connecting cars via payload), based on relative GPS positions, It may be determined based on an interior bumper contact sequence (e.g., contacting an interior bumper that has not been used since the car was built) and/or based on database references. However, the arrangement of the vehicles within the car may be otherwise suitably determined.

Vehicle motion may be coordinated within a car, coordinated within a swarm, independently controlled, and/or otherwise controlled. Vehicle behavior is determined based on the vehicle's operating mode (e.g., leading vehicle, trailing vehicle), or is assigned to a coordinator (e.g., a car designated as a master or a vehicle in a platoon, where other vehicles are designated as slaves). It may be determined by or otherwise determined. In a first example, based on the vehicle arrangement within the car and the direction of movement, the leading vehicle determines control commands for the car. In a first example, the leading vehicle transmits mechanical force (e.g., with the trailing vehicle operating in a torque control mode) via a V2V communication channel (e.g., wirelessly transmitting torque/speed commands) and/or Commands can be relayed to the remaining (trailing) vehicles through transmission. In a second example, a lead vehicle may set a vehicle speed (e.g., based on bumper force sensor feedback), where the trailing vehicle is within a predetermined range (e.g., at a platform interface). (measured) payload shear force can be maintained. In a third example, the trailing vehicle may be controlled to a predetermined portion (e.g., half) of the average torque (e.g., rolling, weighting, etc.) of the leading vehicle within the vehicle, which is It is possible to avoid supplying conflicting torques in the event of speed measurement errors (e.g. due to differential wheel wear). In a fourth example, the trailing vehicle may be controlled based on the compressive force at the leading bumper of the leading vehicle. In a fifth embodiment, the leading vehicle is set to adjust target parameters (e.g. speed in the case of the leading vehicle; bumper contact force in the case of the trailing vehicle) and the rear drone is set to average the load with a low update rate. In such cases, the nominal impact of low-speed V2V communication/response is SOC variation between paired vehicles, which can be marginalized by load balancing and/or otherwise ignored in many cases. In an alternative variant, the leading vehicle may be considered a 'master' vehicle and the trailing vehicle may be considered a 'slave' vehicle controlled based on V2V commands from an associated/paired 'master' vehicle. However, pairs of vehicles within a car may coordinate based on commands in any suitable manner.

4. Method.

An example of the method (S100) shown in FIG. 2A includes: a cluster generation step (S110); Cluster maintenance step (S120); Response step to swarm event (S130); and a cluster separation step (S140). However, method S100 may additionally or alternatively include any other suitable elements. The method S100 functions to facilitate coordinated transportation (platooning) of multiple payloads by vehicle. Method S100 may be performed once, continuously, iteratively, for any suitable car and/or swarm within the network (e.g., as a dispatcher controls one or more cars and/or swarm etc. operating on a rail network). , and/or at any other suitable timing/period. The sub-elements of the method may occur in any suitable combination and/or permutation and/or may otherwise be performed as appropriate.

The swarm creation step (S110) functions to facilitate coordinated transport of multiple payloads (e.g., this may improve aerodynamic properties during transport). Clusters may be created manually and/or automatically at the terminal (eg, during loading and unloading; during formation of cars from constituent vehicles and payloads). Clusters may additionally or alternatively be created between terminals (e.g. for cars moving along a common track). A swarm can be created by combining a set of cars at rest and a moving car(s), or by combining two sets of cars traversing in the same direction along a common track (e.g., sets of cars can be created at different relative speeds). /controlling at speed and/or based on relative speed/speed threshold; etc.). The swarm is preferably created autonomously and/or automatically by the car based on commands received from the dispatcher, but may otherwise be created based on commands from the car or vehicle (e.g. forwarding commands from the dispatcher, Instructions can be generated differently (autonomously, based on warrant allocation, etc.).

As an example, the cluster generation step (S110) shown in FIG. 2C includes a step of individually crossing (S112), a step of crossing within a critical distance of the group car (S114), and a step of engaging with the group car (S116). can do. However, the cluster generation step may include any other suitable elements.

The individual crossing step S112 serves to reduce the distance between sets of cars occupying the same track (an example is shown in Figure 4A). Vehicles crossing during S112 may include a cluster (e.g., crossing according to S120), a set of vehicles, and/or individual vehicles/vehicles. The sets are preferably traversed at different speeds, with the relative speed serving to close the gap between the two sets. In a first example, a car may move toward a stationary swarm in a first direction (e.g., escorting the swarm in a second direction opposite the first direction; pushing the swarm in a first direction; etc.) . In a second example, the first (leading) and second (trailing) sets of cars may move in the same direction, with the leading set traversing at the first speed and the trailing set crossing at the second speed that is greater than the first speed. Cross at speed.

In S112, each set of cars occupies a different unique section of the track and operates under separate warrants. The sets of cars are separated/offset by at least a threshold distance (e.g. 20 meters). The threshold distance is predetermined (e.g. based on a predetermined maximum speed of cars operating on the rail network, fixed within the network by dispatcher warrant allocation, etc.) and/or dynamically determined (e.g. (e.g., based on speed, stopping distance, localization granularity, size of warrant, density of rail network, etc.), may be determined manually and/or otherwise as appropriate. During S112, each set may require (e.g. acceleration/deceleration, full stop, etc.), detection of hazards on or around the track (e.g. detection of pedestrians, cars, downed power lines, etc.). may be individually responsible for determining and/or responding to events). During S112, each set individually communicates with the dispatcher continuously, periodically, aperiodically (e.g., receives commands without V2V communication between the two sets) and/or (e.g., at regular intervals). may not communicate with the dispatcher (while operating within warranted sections of the track).

However, sets can be closed with different distances between them.

The cluster generation step S110 may include a step S114 of traversing within a threshold distance of the cluster difference, which closes the distance between the sets of cars during the generation of the cluster (examples are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4B). and/or function to relieve the impact of fastening (e.g., of S116). In S114, the relative speed of the set is preferably reduced from the relative speed in S112. The relative speed/speed is set to a fixed speed delta (e.g. based on the impact constraints of the car and/or bumpers, based on the operating speed of the rail network, etc.), ramped down and/or otherwise appropriate. can be controlled properly. At S114, one or both sets of cars may communicate with the dispatcher via a V2I channel and/or the sets may communicate with each other via a V2V channel. The set of cars moving at greater speed (e.g. closing the gap) are: time-of-flight sensors (e.g. radar), GPS sensors, optical sensors (e.g. cameras; the remaining distance between the sets based on measurements from any suitable set of sensors (e.g., inertial sensors, wheel speed sensors, motor torque/speed sensors, etc.), vehicle sensors (e.g., inertial sensors, wheel speed sensors, motor torque/speed sensors, etc.), and/or other sensors. can detect and/or estimate and/or adjust and/or appropriately control the relative speed. Alternatively, a slower set of cars can speed up and/or a faster set of cars can slow down at a predetermined time (e.g., calculated to approximate a threshold distance) and/or a physical buffer (e.g., bumpers) may be positioned, magnetic bumpers may be activated, and/or sets of cars may otherwise be controlled to achieve and/or maintain a threshold distance.

In such a variant, the 'closing' set of cars (the set of cars approaching the remaining set) minimizes the relative speed difference between the sets of cars (e.g., within a predetermined threshold speed/velocity difference). and/or minimize the shock load and/or initial force between the bumpers (e.g., within a predetermined threshold, such as based on the maximum force and/or displacement threshold of the bumper) and/or , minimize the closing period (e.g., both sets of cars occupy the same warrant, and the closing car is within a predetermined distance of the other set of cars), and/or (e.g., one or more sensors, The risk score (determined based on distance, current speed, minimum braking distance, etc.) may be minimized and/or otherwise controlled as appropriate.

Additionally or alternatively, a set of cars moving at greater speeds could be operated in a force feedback loop, detecting contact forces at the bumper (proximal platoon vehicle; leading bumper in the direction of travel) exceeding a threshold. It responds and immediately enters S116. However, a slower car set can alternatively control relative speed.

During S114, the two sets of cars may share warrants and/or be configured to cooperatively respond to swarming events, such as hazards on the track. In certain examples, when the trailing car is within a critical distance of the leading car, the trailing car may have a reduced ability to observe ahead hazards. Accordingly, the trailing car responds in cooperation with the leading car—for example, by observing and adjusting its controls in response to changes in leading car speed, or by receiving commands (e.g., via a V2V channel) associated with adjusted braking. For example, braking) may be configured.

In a first example, S114 may end when contact is established between the two sets of cars.

In a second example, S114 may be terminated according to S140 - for example by braking the trailing car or accelerating the leading car until the distance between the vehicles exceeds a threshold distance, at which point the first and second sets include Separate warrants are allocated. S114 may trigger - e.g., hazard and/or event detection based on onboard sensors, relative speed difference satisfying a trigger threshold, vehicle acceleration satisfying a threshold, and/or any other suitable event - and/or swarming. It may be terminated in response to a communication (V2V) from.

Alternatively, both sets of vehicles may remain within warrant and rely on coordinated behavior to maintain S114, even in response to a hazard or trigger event.

However, the distance between the sets of cars that create the cluster may otherwise be appropriately closed.

The swarm creation step (S110) may include a step (S116) of fastening the swarm cars, which functions to buffer the impact of fastening and/or equalize the contact force between the two sets of cars forming the swarm (an example is shown in Figure 4c). The impact is preferably buffered passively by the bumper(s), but may additionally or alternatively be actively buffered based on contact forces measured at the bumper (e.g. load cells) and/or frame acceleration of the vehicle/payload. You can. In a specific example, a set of cars traveling at higher speeds can actively cushion the impact of engagement by regenerative braking the electric motor of the car's (vehicle) powertrain, based on the contact force at the bumper. In S116, one or both sets of cars are placed in a force feedback and/or torque control mode (e.g., as opposed to a speed control mode), preferably until the contact force remains parallel within the range as specified by S120. (im) is converted to

Clusters can be generated from any suitable set of differences. In a first example, a cluster may be formed by merging/combining two clusters each containing a plurality of differences. In a second example, a cluster may be formed by merging/combining the first and second individual differences. In a third example, a cluster may be formed by merging/combining existing clusters containing individual cars and multiple cars.

However, clusters can be created/formed differently from sets of cars.

In a first example, when the distance between the car and an adjacent car in the cluster is zero (i.e., when the car is physically in contact with an adjacent car in the cluster, such as a trailing car or a leading car; when a bumper abutment is set, etc.) Clusters can be created and/or combined/merged with secondary clusters. In a second example, a car may be combined/merged with a cluster if the car is assigned to the same warrant (e.g., according to S120 and/or S130) and/or is controlled cooperatively with the remaining cars in the cluster. In a third example, teas can be combined/merged with clusters if voids at the leading edge of the teas are minimized (e.g., for a particular tea configuration). In a fourth example, a car joins/merges with a swarm based on a relative speed threshold being met (e.g., the car is crossing at substantially the same speed; speed difference less than 0.2 km/h in the crossing direction; etc.) It can be. In the fifth example, the cars can be combined/merged based on any combination or permutation of the first, second, third, and fourth examples.

In variations, swarm creation and/or assignment of a particular vehicle (or rail drone) to a particular swarm, location within the swarm, and/or warrants may include proximity, state of charge, line of sight, time for relocation, cargo weight, and/or warrants for relocation. It may be based on factors such as number of moves (e.g. spur switches). Additionally or alternatively, cluster creation and/or warrant allocation may be performed by the dispatcher (e.g., according to any suitable set of criteria).

The platoon maintenance phase S120 functions to enable cooperative traversing of the platoon of cars along a section of track. The swarm maintenance may additionally or alternatively (mechanically) function to exchange commands between the cars of the swarm and/or distribute power/energy among the cars of the swarm. At S120, the swarm traverses along a section of track in a direction according to commands received by the dispatcher. The command may specify the following: warrant (or track area), speed/velocity command, position command, contact force command, and/or any other suitable command. The group may traverse in the same direction as the engagement direction in S110 (e.g., a car or multiple cars may merge at the rear and continue in the same direction) or in the opposite direction. Commands are preferably received at the lead car based on the crossing direction, but may additionally or alternatively be received at each car (and/or vehicles) in the cluster.

Based on commands, the lead difference in the direction of motion can control traversal of the swarm (e.g., speed, acceleration, position, etc.). The lead vehicle is preferably operated autonomously, but may alternatively be operated passively or controlled remotely. The remaining (trailing) cars in the swarm apply a contact force (i.e., "push") to the lead bumper of each car with any suitable control scheme (e.g., a feedback loop), such as the example shown in Figure 10. The contact force that maintains the swarm is controlled by: the V2I channel (e.g., from the dispatcher), from one or more cars in the swarm (e.g., from the lead car, from an adjacent car, etc.) may be received as part of a command via a V2V channel and/or otherwise as appropriate.Additionally or alternatively, the contact force may be predetermined (e.g., fixed, 500N, between 100N and 1000N, etc.); may be dynamically determined (e.g., adjusted based on swarm speed, acceleration, etc.) and/or otherwise determined as appropriate.Thus, swarms may be dynamically adjusted using contact forces independent of wireless/wired communication channels. In an example, the operating time constants for each car in this configuration are: the time constant of the load cell measurement of contact force occurring at approximately ˜kHz, the powertrain torque regulation at approximately ˜1 kHz, and the time constant of the load cell measurement at approximately ˜1 kHz. Based on the stiffness of the car (excluding the bumpers) to react, it may be approximately 100 Hz; where the disturbances that act to accelerate/decelerate the car and/or deform the bumper occur at approximately 0.1 to 1 Hz.

In this configuration, the acceleration/deceleration of the lead car (and/or its lead vehicle) is mechanically transmitted (sequentially) along the platoon to coordinate crossing. If the contact is limited to compressive contact (e.g. 'pushing' at the front end of the car), control is transferred mechanically opposite the direction of motion (e.g. unidirectionally; backwards along the cluster). It can be. However, the car may additionally or alternatively be based on contact force from the rear relative to the direction of motion and/or based on radio communication of any suitable commands between the rear, front, two-way, and/or any suitable set of cars in the swarm. It can be controlled.

However, in variants, the contact and/or engagement between the vehicles may additionally or alternatively include tensile load transfer (i.e. 'pull') and/or may be otherwise suitably configured.

In a variant, maintaining contact at the leading bumper of each vehicle serves for load balancing and/or load balancing between cars in a group, for example by adjusting the contact force at the leading and/or trailing end (bumper) of the car based on the state of charge. or may involve energy redistribution, which may function to extend the (electrical) range of the cluster and/or improve its performance characteristics (e.g. excessively depleting the battery may have adverse effects on battery life, efficiency, etc. possible). For example, the car may: push the leading car (e.g., reduce the energy consumption of the leading car), and/or pull the trailing car (e.g., reduce the energy consumption of the trailing car). ), otherwise adjacent cars can be manipulated. In a first example, a first car with a higher battery state of charge (SOC) pushes a second car with a lower SOC, imparting a first contact force to the rear end of the second car, where The second car pushes the third car with a second contact force that is less than the first contact force. If the contact is limited to compressive contact (e.g. no tension between the cars, 'pushing' at the front end of the cars, etc.), energy will be transferred substantially between the cars of the group in the direction of motion of the group. (An example is shown in FIG. 7). In the steady-state case, energy is transferred to the direction of motion even when each car consumes energy to maintain the platoon through torque and/or speed control (e.g., depleting battery SOC to power an electric powertrain). can be passed on. Therefore, 'load balancing' can still drain energy from the car with the lowest remaining (electrical) range and/or lowest SOC, but at slower speeds, thus reducing the variation in SOC distribution among the cars in the flock. It can reduce and increase the effective range of the colony. This way of (re)distributing energy is: always (e.g. whenever there is a group of cars); When the battery condition of the leading car (e.g. lead car, middle car, etc.) falls below the threshold; Based on the relative energy distribution between different cars, when going up a hill (for example, when a car is traversing up a slope); and/or at any other time.

In a variant, load balancing may be used to offset the effects of non-uniformity of the drag gradient and/or drag effect across the various degrees of the population. For example, load balancing may be controlled based on the relative drag gradient within the flock and/or non-uniformity in the net drag of the various cars of the flock (e.g., especially lead cars).

In a variant, it may be more advantageous to maintain the lead vehicle and/or the lead vehicle's energy source (e.g., residual energy in a battery) to facilitate continuous autonomous protection and/or monitoring in the lead vehicle. For example, guidance sensors that can enable autonomous operation, such as cameras, lidar, radar, and/or other sensors arranged on a swarm of trailing vehicles, can be guided by the vehicles in front of them. It may be at least partially disturbed in the direction of motion and may therefore rely on the lead car (and/or its lead vehicle) to detect and/or respond to the crowding event (e.g. according to S130). Accordingly, in some variations, load balancing may be performed without a significant power contribution from the lead car's powertrain (e.g., regenerative braking while maintaining continuous speed, idle powertrain while being pushed to continuous speed, maintaining speed). (e.g., contributing only a portion of the power), the lead car can maintain a continuous energy supply. Additionally or alternatively, one or more sensors of the trailing vehicle may remain unpowered to conserve energy resources. Alternatively, the lead car may otherwise maintain a continuous energy source (eg, third rail energy supply, backup power source, etc.).

However, the population may be maintained differently.

The swarm event response step (S130) functions to coordinate responses to events such as rail hazards across the swarm. A swarm event involves a dispatcher, an autonomous agent in one or more cars (e.g., a lead car and/or the lead car's lead car), external infrastructure (e.g., rail-side monitoring equipment, etc.), and a human operator (e.g., a lead car). may be sensed and/or determined by a person on board a vehicle, a rail side operator, etc.) and/or otherwise determined as appropriate. In a first variant, the dispatcher may detect a violation of a warrant currently occupied by a swarm, such as a separate car entering the warrant or a swarm deviating from the warrant. In a second variant, external infrastructure may detect hazards, such as a failed railway switch. In a third variant, the autonomous agent may detect hazards—such as humans or cars in close proximity to the rails—based on measurements from a sensor set of one or more cars in the swarm. In a fourth variant, a platooning event may be determined based on input received from a human operator (e.g., onboard of a car in a platoon or offboard of a platoon; brake command, full stop request, reroute request, etc.) You can. In response to the swarm event determination, the swarm may coordinate one or more responses.

In a variation, the swarm may respond to a swarm event with coordinated acceleration or deceleration of the swarm within a critical acceleration range (e.g., within the nominal friction limits of the wheel). In such a variant, the lead car of the platoon (e.g., transmits acceleration or deceleration control commands to the remaining vehicles; brakes and relies on the force feedback loop of the trailing car to follow the lead car acceleration or deceleration). may provide control input to the remaining vehicles (by doing so, etc.). During coordinated deceleration, the swarm preferably utilizes regenerative and/or electric braking (eg for cars containing a pair of electric bogies). Typically, braking in this manner can increase operating efficiency and/or extend the service life of vehicle components (eg, before friction brakes need to be serviced or replaced). If the swarm must decelerate quickly (e.g., within the line of sight of the lead car/sensor), the swarm may additionally or alternatively use friction braking to quickly slow the car. In such a case, each car may individually receive a wireless signal associated with a full-stop braking event, which may be transmitted to the dispatcher and/or to the car in the platoon (e.g., the lead car; e.g., the car initiating the platoon event). It can be broadcast by. In a first example, each car in the swarm (and/or each vehicle thereof) independently applies maximum braking force (e.g., as regulated by an independent on-board ABS system; based on the traction of the wheels). supply. In this example, the rear car may be controlled to brake more quickly, which may separate one or more cars/sections of the cluster from ongoing contact (e.g., dropping a car from the rear of the cluster, such as from back to front; According to S140, where individual dropped cars may traverse (S112) or otherwise act independently). Alternatively, platooning can be coordinated to preserve contact between adjacent cars during a full-stop (e.g., emergency) braking event.

As an example, the first car of the swarm may autonomously detect an obstacle and slow down in response. This deceleration may mechanically dictate coordinated, independent braking of each independently-maneuverable rail car in the swarm (e.g., based on bumper contact force, etc.).

In a variation, a swarm may respond to a powertrain failure event of one or more cars in the swarm. In such cases, a car following a car with a powertrain failure may provide propulsion by pushing the rear of the car to compensate for the reduced propulsion capacity (e.g., rear end contact force exceeds front end contact force). If the rear car experiences a powertrain failure, it can be separated from the group according to S140.

In a variant, the swarm escorts a car experiencing a failure with the lead car(s) in accordance with S120 and/or wirelessly communicates control commands (e.g., in the event of a load cell failure at the front end of the car). This allows it to respond to sensor/autonomous failures of one or more trailing vehicles. If the lead car of the cluster for the traverse direction experiences a failure, the cluster can be escorted by coupling an additional car to the front end of the cluster (according to S110) and relying on the additional car to escort the cluster. Additionally or alternatively, the grouping may be reversed (eg, the rearmost car/vehicle acts as the lead car/vehicle) and/or otherwise controlled as appropriate.

However, a swarm may otherwise respond to swarm events as appropriate.

The cluster separation step (S140), an example of which is shown in FIG. 4D, functions to separate one or more differences in the cluster. Cars may separate while the platoon is stationary, during a crossing, and/or in response to a platoon event (e.g., powertrain failure of the rearmost car, dropping a trailing car during coordinated braking, etc.). The cars can either manually or automatically respond to commands by the dispatcher to form a platoon, based on the destination of the set of cars in the platoon and based on the arrangement of the cars relative to the infrastructure (e.g., roads, intersections, terminal infrastructure, etc.). may be separated based on the state of charge (SOC) of one or more cars of the cluster, based on a breakdown state of one or more cars of the cluster, and/or otherwise as appropriate. The cars may be separated in a traverse direction (eg, forward acceleration, rear deceleration, etc.), in the opposite direction, while a subset of the cars is stationary, and/or in any other suitable manner.

In a first variant, one or more cars of a set are kept in a set until they deviate from the warrant of the cluster and/or exceed a threshold distance from the cluster (e.g., a threshold distance controlled by S112, a different threshold distance, etc.) can be separated by (cooperatively) slowing down the cars. In certain examples, a separated set of cars may be controlled to decelerate at (or above) a maximum coordinated braking threshold, as specified in S120, such that any coordinated deceleration of the group will not result in a collision with the separated cars. . However, full-stop/emergency braking events may be broadcast to and/or coordinated with a separate set of cars.

In a second variant, at a temporary stoppage of a swarm traversing in a first direction, the rear set of cars in the swarm may be separated by reversing the sets (e.g., in a second direction opposite the first direction). As an example, a group may be separated at an intersection to avoid directly blocking traffic on the road, such as by reversing the car(s) blocking the road (and the car following them with respect to the first direction). . Additionally or alternatively, a swarm may be separated at an intersection by advancing cars at the front of the swarm (e.g., in a first direction; an example is shown in FIGS. 11A-11F) or otherwise configured as appropriate. .

In a third variant, the swarm may be split before directing individual sets of cars along a branching set of tracks—for example, prior to a railway switch.

In a fourth variant, the cars of a cluster can be rearranged/shuffled by using sections of the passing track. This can be particularly advantageous for redistributing energy backwards along the swarm. In particular, for the transversal direction the rear car in the cluster experiences greater aerodynamic losses than the other cars in the cluster (e.g. as a result of pressure drag at the rear) and maintains unbalanced contact forces (e.g. as a result of Provides a push without pressure; pushes harder than it is pushed; the compressive force on the trailing bumper is different from the compressive force on the car's leading bumper), it (e.g. with the same initial SOC and payload) ) It may be a difference in the range limitations of the cluster. Therefore, by separating the clusters, rearranging the differences in the cluster, advancing/retreating the separated difference(s) with respect to the remaining differences in the cluster, and repeating S110, the differences (e.g. can be effectively shuffled and/or rearranged (if the order of the remaining set of differences is preserved). Accordingly, cars may be reordered based on state of charge, powertrain state, and/or sensor state of the population (an example is shown in Figure 9C). In certain examples, a first (e.g., rear) car and a second car (e.g., adjacent to the rear car) of a cluster traversing in a first direction may be separated from the cluster; The second car may be routed along the transit track until the first car advances past a converging switch; The secondary and primary can then be recombined into a cluster, with the secondary following (pushing) the primary.

However, clusters can be appropriately separated otherwise.

5. Yes.

In one example, a swarm may have coordinated braking through indirect means such as controls or external sensors (unlike traditional trains where coordinated braking is ensured through a common air brake line spanning the entire assembly). Successful coordination of braking activities can be critical in some environments to avoid derailments or cascading failures within the flock. The importance of this braking sequence depends on the performance margin remaining in the assembly in the event of a severe braking event. At high speeds the subtlety and importance of these braking decisions can be much greater than allowed at slower speeds. An example process flow for braking may include: determining (e.g., internally or externally) a brake command, which is passed back to the swarm. The resulting echo of the command can be used to verify the safety of performing the braking command within the swarm, as well as verifying the magnitude and source of the initiated braking event. As braking is adjusted and initiated, accelerometers and external force sensors can be monitored within the cluster to detect off-nominal loads that may indicate failure. In the event of a failure, differences in acceleration and load within the cluster can be used to determine the location, nature, and severity of the failure. This feedback can be used to determine the correct response, which may include release of braking force or application of additional force through a mechanical brake. Once the change in speed has been achieved and the brake release command has been generated, this is passed back to the swarm. The resulting echo of the command can be used to verify the safety of the release brake within the swarm. However, the braking can be adjusted differently.

In a variation, creating a cluster may be performed in U.S. Application No. 17/335,732, filed June 1, 2021, and/or filed March 14, 2022, all of which are incorporated herein by this reference in their entirety. and loading and/or joining pairs of rail drones, such as those described in U.S. Application No. 17/694,499. Unlike traditional trains, where cars are physically attached and then moved into position for loading, these rail cars are formed from loose (physically separate) rail drones that may need to be acquired and arranged for each payload. Accordingly, the loading process may rely on a series of steps to pair any drone with a specific demand, co-locate them, and then safely combine them.

An example process flow for creating a car may include: starting with a payload load request (e.g., from a dispatcher, each associated with a warrant), and a rail drone is assigned according to the request. Assignment of a particular rail drone may be based on factors such as proximity, state of charge, line of sight, time for relocation, or number of moves for relocation (e.g., spur switches). Following assignment, the rail drones can self-redeploy to the loading area under their own power (e.g., operating individually under warrant, operating autonomously, remotely controlled by a dispatcher, etc.). This relocation process may occur in a configuration that does not match that of the final payload, for example being strictly faired until it arrives at the loading zone to reduce the track length footprint during internal transport. Upon reaching the loading zone, the rail drones can position them relative to their intended payload, including their state position relative to the payload and their absolute position relative to the loader. Once in place, during the loading process, the rail drone can perform additional position corrections based on feedback from payload geometry and position. This may be through coordination with the operator and/or through internal feedback through onboard sensors such as cameras. Once the payload has been installed, onboard fittings can be engaged to fully restrain the payload. Additional verification of weight, weight distribution, and fitting engagement may be performed within, before, or after these steps to ensure that the payload can be moved safely. However, tea may otherwise form as part of swarm formation and/or swarm formation may occur independently of tea formation (e.g., completely asynchronous with tea formation, during transport, etc.).

However, clusters and/or differences may be formed differently.

In a variant, aerodynamic efficiency during platooning may be provided through the physical configuration of the rail drone and/or the car formed therewith (e.g., specialized aerodynamic fittings or careful Unlike trucks and trains, which can use arrayed payloads, the high-efficiency performance of swarms can be achieved without structural modifications to aerodynamics. As an example, arranging the payload near the leading and trailing edges of the cars and/or establishing (continuous) contact between the bumpers of the platoon cars can minimize air gaps between the platoon cars (and the payload). You can. This approach can greatly obsolete the process of organizing the sequence of train payloads to improve efficiency. However, technologies may otherwise minimize air gaps and/or improve aerodynamic efficiency.

Alternative embodiments implement the methods and/or processing modules in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions. The instructions may be executed by a computer-readable medium and/or a computer-executable component integrated with a processing system. Computer-readable media may include any suitable computer-readable media, such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, EEPROM, optical devices (CD or DVD), hard drives, floppy drives, non-transitory computer-readable media, or any suitable device. may include. A computer-executable component includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a CPU, GPU, TPUS, microprocessor, or ASIC (e.g., one or more collocated or distributed, remote or local processors). ) a computing system and/or a processing system, but the instructions may alternatively or additionally be executed by any suitable dedicated hardware device.

Embodiments of systems and/or methods may include any combination and permutation of various system components and various method processes, wherein one or more instances of the methods and/or processes described herein are as described herein. may be performed asynchronously (e.g. sequentially), simultaneously (e.g. in parallel), or in any other suitable order by and/or using one or more instances of a system, element, and/or entity. You can.

As those skilled in the art will recognize from the previously detailed description and from the drawings and claims, modifications and changes may be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims (24)

As a method,
controlling, based on a first set of instructions from a remote dispatcher, the traversing of a first fleet in a transport direction along a track within a rail network, the first fleet comprising a first rail car;
receiving a second set of instructions from the remote dispatcher at a second rail car following the first conglomerate along the track;
autonomously controlling traversing of the second rail car along the track in the transport direction, based on the second set of instructions;
determining a distance between the second rail car and the first platoon;
based on the distance, joining the second rail car to the first platoon; and
After joining the second rail car to the first cluster, the following:
determine the compressive force at the leading edge of the transport direction;
autonomously controlling the second rail car by controlling a powertrain of the second rail car based on the compression force;
Method, including. According to paragraph 1,
The method of claim 1, wherein engaging the second rail car includes controlling crossing of the second car based on a relative speed threshold. According to paragraph 1,
The method of claim 1, wherein coupling the second rail car to the first flock includes passively and actively damping initial contact between the second rail car and the first flock. According to paragraph 3,
The method of claim 1, wherein the second rail car includes a damper at the leading edge to passively dampen the initial contact. According to paragraph 3,
Wherein actively damping the initial contact includes dynamically controlling a powertrain of the second rail car based on the compressive force. According to paragraph 1,
The first rail car is autonomous. According to clause 6,
determining a coordinated deceleration event in the first rail car;
In response to determining the adjusted deceleration event, controlling the first population based on the adjusted deceleration event;
It further includes,
Controlling the first swarm includes: controlling the second rail car based on at least one of a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) control communication wirelessly received from the second rail car, the distance, or the compression force. Method, including. According to paragraph 1,
The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second sets of instructions are associated with first and second warrants, respectively, in the rail network. According to clause 8,
The method of claim 1, wherein joining the second rail car to the first swarm comprises: at the remote dispatcher, assigning the first and second rail cars to a shared warrant for the first swarm. According to paragraph 1,
wherein both the first and second rail cars traverse in the first direction when the second rail car joins the first cluster. According to paragraph 1,
The method of claim 1, wherein the powertrain of the second rail car comprises a battery-electric powertrain. As a method,
At a rail car in the swarm, receiving commands from a remote dispatcher;
controlling traversing of the rail car within the rail network in a transport direction, based on the command; and
Concurrently with controlling the traversing of the rail cars, at each of a set of independently-maneuverable rail cars in the swarm:
determining a respective compression force at the leading edge of the independently-maneuverable rail car in the transport direction; and
and autonomously controlling the independently-manoeuvrable rail car based on the respective compression force. According to clause 12,
The method of claim 1, wherein the rail car is the lead rail car of the group in the transport direction. According to clause 13,
further comprising load balancing the swarm based on a relative energy distribution of the set of independently-maneuverable rail cars, wherein load balancing the swarm comprises: between independently-maneuverable rail cars of a set load; A method comprising maintaining an unbalanced compression force of. According to clause 14,
The method of claim 1, wherein the load balancing is based on relative drag gradients within the swarm. According to clause 12,
determining a full-stop event in the rail car; and
Based on the full-stop event, the method further includes performing coordinated braking of each of the set of independently-maneuverable rail cars. According to clause 16,
During the full-stop event, the method further comprising separating the swarms based on their location relative to an intersection. According to clause 12,
The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions include a speed target, and wherein each independently-maneuverable rail car uses torque control based on a compressive force target to achieve the speed target. According to clause 12,
The method of claim 1, wherein each set of independently-maneuverable rail cars includes a respective electric powertrain. According to paragraph 1,
autonomously detecting an obstacle in the first rail car; and, in response thereto, decelerating, wherein the deceleration of the first rail car mechanically directs coordinated, independent braking of each independently-maneuverable rail car in the first cluster. method. As a method,
controlling the traversing of the first population in the transport direction along the track;
determining a distance between a second vehicle and the first swarm;
based on the distance, joining the second rail car to the first swarm; and
Next: That is,
determine the compressive force at the leading edge of the transport direction;
and autonomously controlling the second rail car by controlling a powertrain of the second rail car based on the compression force. As a method,
controlling the crossing of the first rail cars of the swarm in the transport direction; and
Simultaneously with controlling traversing of the first rail car, at each of a set of independently-maneuverable rail cars in the swarm:
determining a respective compression force at the leading edge of the independently-maneuverable rail car in the transport direction; and
autonomously controlling the independently-maneuverable rail car based on the respective compression force. A dispatcher system configured to control the crossing of the rail car within the rail network according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 22. A rail car system controlled by the method of any one of claims 1 to 22.

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